The smell of fresh paint greeted visitors to Abingdon Museum in the old County Hall, back open after a £10,000 refurbishment.

Its relaunch on Saturday coincided with national Heritage Open Days, when historic buildings in Oxfordshire threw open their doors from Friday until yesterday.

It was organised by the Civic Trust and English Heritage to give the public an opportunity to explore some of the county's architectural gems.

Debbie Dance, the director of the Oxford Preservation Trust, said: "Saturday was an absolutely wonderful day for hundreds of people throughout Oxfordshire who were able to go to buildings, many of which are closed to public gaze.

"What the Open Days did was to open people's eyes to architectural treasures that we are fortunate enough to have in the county.

"I hope they realise how important it is that we all help preserve our heritage."

Abingdon Museum has been closed for six weeks to allow English Heritage to repaint the old Sessions gallery, now the main museum hall in the 17th century building. Visitors were allowed on to the roof for a panoramic view of the town.

Museum curator Lauren Gilmour said: "Our main gallery is so much better and brighter now and a more pleasant place for visitors and our staff. It was a bit dull before and in need of brightening up."

In the Ashmolean Museum, Magnus Sigurdsson gave a talk yesterday afternoon about the armour and weapons he created for blockbuster films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings.

Art lovers were treated to an exclusive view of a collection of works by Ben Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, and David Jones at a private house in Iffley.

Green College opened the Radcliffe Observatory in Woodstock Road, where Prof Jeff Burley yesterday explained the history of the building. Charles Barclay gave a talk about astronomy.

Other events in the city included a talk and walking tour of Oxford Castle by author Dr Giles Brindley.

On Saturday there was a self-guided tour of Oxford University's Examination Schools in High Street and an illustrated talk by David Mather, of Network Rail, at the new Oxford Castle education centre, about the LMS swingbridge.